School of Life and Environmental Sciences news

There was a strong Deakin University presence at a recent meeting of the Science Panel of the Victorian Coastal Council, with a group of six School of Life and Environmental Sciences academic staff attending.

They can wipe out an entire
commercial fish farm overnight, terrify open water swimmers throughout the
world and disable power stations, but Deakin's top marine scientist
is part of a global team which could have the solution to the sting of the
jellyfish bloom.

In the battle against climate change, the role of rainforests in storing carbon is well understood - yet Deakin scientists believe that the humble swamp, or freshwater wetland, could be up to 50 times more effective.

Slow and steady doesn't just
win the race between a tortoise and a hare, with new Deakin University research
showing sluggish, shy and slow-growing underwater creatures have a better
chance of avoiding death by fishing hook than their bigger and bolder
counterparts.

A Deakin University biologist is collaborating with French scientists to unlock the secrets to the animal kingdom's ability to fight cancer in an attempt to help human medicine better prevent and cure the disease.

Deakin nutritionist Associate Professor Giovanni Turchini has been awarded one of the Nutrition Society of Australia's (NSA's) highest honours - the NSA annual medal, in recognition of his outstanding research in aquaculture and nutrition.

A symposium has been held in honour of Emeritus Professor Julian Mercer, who has retired from Deakin after 15 years with the university. The symposium was hosted by the Melbourne Biometals Group and attended by a number of Australia's leading metal biologists.

Deakin evolutionary ecologist Dr Beata Ujvari
will be heading to Scotland in November to participate in an
international workshop on diversity in telomere dynamics, with the
support of a travel grant from The Ian Potter Foundation.

Mention quality control and many would think of large factories
and long production lines, but Deakin University molecular biologist Dr
Bernhard Dichtl is investigating the role of this process in a somewhat smaller
environment – inside cells.

Deakin University ecologists have gained fascinating new insights into
the secret lives of a nomadic Australian waterbird whose ability to
somehow know it has rained up to thousands of kilometres away has
intrigued researchers for generations.

Dr Bob Brown, former Leader of the Australian Greens and prominent
environmentalist and author, is giving a guest presentation at Deakin
University's Melbourne Burwood Campus on Monday 25 August 2014, starting
at 6pm.

Deakin University palaeoecologist and beetle researcher Dr Nicholas Porch will be travelling to Germany after receiving an Australian Academy of Science grant in support of a project to bring together data on Australian diving beetles.

New research has uncovered the visual tricks male great bowerbirds employ to enhance their chances of mating. Professor
John Endler says researchers know that
male great bowerbirds construct a bower to restrict and refine the
female's view.

A record rainfall event in Western Australia's Goldfields region in
early 2014 gave Deakin University PhD student Reece Pedler a rare
opportunity to witness a breeding event of the small wading bird that is
the focus of his research - the Banded Stilt.

The challenge of reconciling science with politics was one of the key
issues raised during the recent visit to Deakin of one of the world's
most eminent ecologists, and climate change expert, Professor Lord Krebs
FRS.

World renowned zoologist and ecologist Professor Lord Krebs Kt FRS
FMedSci will talk to Deakin University undergraduates, PhD students and
young researchers, including via a Question and Answer session.

Professor John Endler, Deakin's School of Life and Environmental
Sciences and Centre for Integrative Ecology, is co-author of a paper
which could have implications for the way archaeologists analyse
ancient ceramics.

A paper co-authored by Deakin University researchers and published in The Journal of Experimental Biology
(JEB) about how parrots see their colours was also selected as that
issue's cover story and featured in the journal's 'Inside JEB' section.